Tessa Gargett

Research Interests

Applied immunology (incl. antibody engineering, xenotransplantation and t-cell therapies) Cancer Therapy Cellular Immunology Immunology Solid Tumours Tumour Immunology

Dr Tessa Gargett

Centre for Cancer Biology

College of Health

Date Position Institution name
2024 - ongoing Adjunct Senior Research Fellow University of Adelaide
2013 - ongoing Research Officer Royal Adelaide Hospital

Date Institution name Country Title
2010 - 2013 University of Adelaide Australia PhD

Year Citation
2026 Gardam, B., Gargett, T., Nam, E., Khan, S., Ormsby, R. J., Poonnoose, S. I., . . . Ebert, L. M. (2026). Tumors Located in the Brain Impair the Frequency and Phenotype of Dendritic Cells in Blood and Tumor.. iScience, 29(3), 115160.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2026 Gardam, B., Nam, E., Kollis, P. M., Kilyen‐Coles, J., Lenin, S., Gliddon, B. L., . . . Gargett, T. (2026). A characterisation of the immune cells in immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice with orthotopic brain tumors. Clinical & Translational Immunology, 15(4), 19 pages.
DOI
2025 Liapis, V., Wittwer, N. L., Tieu, W., Gargett, T., Brown, M. P., & Staudacher, A. H. (2025). Detection of immune-mediated tumour cell death in vivo using Zirconium-89-labeled APOMAB®. Journal of Translational Medicine, 23(1, article no. 651), 651-1-651-18.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC1
2025 Palethorpe, H. M., Shard, C., Scheer, K. G., Ryan, C. P., Fouladzadeh, A., Wenholz, D., . . . Gomez, G. A. (2025). An Optimized Explant Organoid Method for Preclinical Brain Tumor Research. NEURO-ONCOLOGY, 27(Supplement_5), v167.
DOI
2024 Gargett, T., Truong, N. T. H., Gardam, B., Yu, W., Ebert, L. M., Johnson, A., . . . Brown, M. P. (2024). Safety and biological outcomes following a phase 1 trial of GD2-specific CAR-T cells in patients with GD2-positive metastatic melanoma and other solid cancers. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 12(5), e008659-1-e008659-17.
DOI Scopus52 WoS48 Europe PMC35
2024 Gargett, T., & Ebert, L. M. (2024). Striking an alliance between T cells and macrophages for enhanced cancer immunotherapy. Immunology & Cell Biology, 102(7), 535-537.
DOI
2024 Yu, W., Truong, N. T. H., Polara, R., Gargett, T., Tea, M. N., Pitson, S. M., . . . Brown, M. P. (2024). Endogenous bystander killing mechanisms enhance the activity of novel FAP‐specific CAR‐T cells against glioblastoma. Clinical & Translational Immunology, 13(7), e1519-1-e1519-20.
DOI Scopus13 WoS11 Europe PMC10
2023 Yu, W., Gargett, T., & Du, Z. (2023). A Poisson distribution-based general model of cancer rates and a cancer risk-dependent theory of aging. Aging, 15(17), 8537-8551.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC1
2023 Gardam, B., Gargett, T., Brown, M. P., & Ebert, L. M. (2023). Targeting the dendritic cell-T cell axis to develop effective immunotherapies for glioblastoma. Frontiers in Immunology, 14, 1261257-1-1261257-14.
DOI Scopus21 WoS19 Europe PMC14
2022 Kollis, P. M., Ebert, L. M., Toubia, J., Bastow, C. R., Ormsby, R. J., Poonnoose, S. I., . . . Gargett, T. (2022). Characterising Distinct Migratory Profiles of Infiltrating T-Cell Subsets in Human Glioblastoma. Frontiers in immunology, 13, 850226-1-850226-19.
DOI Scopus24 WoS24 Europe PMC22
2022 A, M., Owen, K. L., Townley, S., Zanker, D., Rollin, S. P. G., Hanson, A. R., . . . Selth, L. A. (2022). Potent Stimulation of the Androgen Receptor Instigates a Viral Mimicry Response in Prostate Cancer. Cancer research communications, 2(7), 706-724.
DOI Scopus18 WoS20 Europe PMC16
2022 Gargett, T., Ebert, L. M., Truong, N. T. H., Kollis, P. M., Sedivakova, K., Yu, W., . . . Brown, M. P. (2022). GD2-targeting CAR-T cells enhanced by transgenic IL-15 expression are an effective and clinically feasible therapy for glioblastoma. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 10(9), 1-15.
DOI Scopus102 WoS101 Europe PMC96
2021 Yeo, E. C. F., Brown, M. P., Gargett, T., & Ebert, L. M. (2021). The role of cytokines and chemokines in shaping the immune microenvironment of glioblastoma: implications for immunotherapy. Cells, 10(3, article no. 607), 1-25.
DOI Scopus76 WoS69 Europe PMC57
2021 Truong, N. T. H., Gargett, T., Brown, M. P., & Ebert, L. M. (2021). Effects of chemotherapy agents on circulating leukocyte populations: potential implications for the success of car-t cell therapies. Cancers, 13(9, article no. 2225), 1-19.
DOI Scopus37 WoS34 Europe PMC29
2021 Liapis, V., Tieu, W., Wittwer, N. L., Gargett, T., Evdokiou, A., Takhar, P., . . . Staudacher, A. H. (2021). Positron emission tomographic imaging of tumor cell death using zirconium-89-labeled APOMAB® following cisplatin chemotherapy in lung and ovarian cancer xenograft models. Molecular Imaging and Biology, 23(6), 914-928.
DOI Scopus8 WoS9 Europe PMC6
2021 Brown, M. P., Ebert, L. M., & Gargett, T. (2021). Erratum: Clinical chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy: a new and promising treatment modality for glioblastoma.. Clinical & translational immunology, 10(8), e1331.
DOI Scopus1 WoS2 Europe PMC2
2021 Liapis, V., Tieu, W., Wittwer, N. L., Gargett, T., Evdokiou, A., Takhar, P., . . . Staudacher, A. H. (2021). Correction to: Positron Emission Tomographic Imaging of Tumor Cell Death Using Zirconium-89-Labeled APOMAB® Following Cisplatin Chemotherapy in Lung and Ovarian Cancer Xenograft Models (Molecular Imaging and Biology, (2021), 23, 6, (914-928), 10.1007/s11307-021-01620-1). Molecular Imaging and Biology, 23(6), 929.
DOI
2020 Ebert, L. M., Yu, W., Gargett, T., Toubia, J., Kollis, P. M., Tea, M. N., . . . Brown, M. P. (2020). Endothelial, pericyte and tumor cell expression in glioblastoma identifies fibroblast activation protein (FAP) as an excellent target for immunotherapy. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 9(10), 1-24.
DOI Scopus63 WoS60 Europe PMC55
2019 Zhang, P., Raju, J., Ullah, M. A., Au, R., Varelias, A., Gartlan, K. H., . . . Tey, S. K. (2019). Phase I trial of inducible caspase 9 T cells in adult stem cell transplant demonstrates massive clonotypic proliferative potential and long-term persistence of transgenic Tcells. Clinical Cancer Research, 25(6), 1749-1755.
DOI Scopus25 WoS24 Europe PMC24
2019 Gargett, T., TRUONG, N., EBERT, L., YU, W., & BROWN, M. (2019). Optimization of manufacturing conditions for chimeric antigen receptor T cells to favor cells with a central memory phenotype. Cytotherapy, 21(6), 593-602.
DOI Scopus34 WoS35 Europe PMC37
2019 Brown, M. P., Ebert, L. M., & Gargett, T. (2019). Clinical chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy: a new and promising treatment modality for glioblastoma. Clinical and translational immunology, 8(5, article no. e1050), 1-20.
DOI Scopus38 WoS36 Europe PMC33
2019 Mencel, J., Gargett, T., Karanth, N., Pokorny, A., Brown, M. P., & Charakidis, M. (2019). Thymic hyperplasia following double immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in two patients with stage IV melanoma. Asia-Pacific journal of clinical oncology, 15(6), 383-386.
DOI Scopus4 WoS3 Europe PMC4
2018 Ebert, L. M., Yu, W., Gargett, T., & Brown, M. P. (2018). Logic-gated approaches to extend the utility of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell technology. Biochemical Society Transactions, 46(2), 391-401.
DOI Scopus30 WoS29 Europe PMC25
2018 Gargett, T., Abbas, M., Rolan, P., Price, J., Gosling, K., Ferrante, A., . . . Brown, M. (2018). Phase I trial of Lipovaxin-MM, a novel dendritic cell-targeted liposomal vaccine for malignant melanoma. Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy, 67(9), 1461-1472.
DOI Scopus90 WoS77 Europe PMC67
2017 Hughes, A. E., Clarson, J., Gargett, T., Yu, W., Brown, M. P., Lopez, A. F., . . . Yong, A. S. M. (2017). Comment on 'KB004, a first in class monoclonal antibody targeting the receptor tyrosine kinase EphA3, in patients with advanced hematologic malignancies: Results from a phase 1 study'. Leukemia research, 55, 55-57.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC3
2016 Gargett, T., Christo, S. N., Hercus, T. R., Abbas, N., Singhal, N., Lopez, A. F., & Brown, M. P. (2016). GM-CSF signalling blockade and chemotherapeutic agents act in concert to inhibit the function of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in vitro. CLINICAL & TRANSLATIONAL IMMUNOLOGY, 5(12), 12 pages.
DOI Scopus41 WoS34 Europe PMC29
2016 Gargett, T., Yu, W., Dotti, G., Yvon, E., Christo, S., Hayball, J., . . . Brown, M. (2016). GD2-specific CAR T cells undergo potent activation and deletion following antigen encounter but can be protected from activation-induced cell death by PD-1 blockade. Molecular Therapy, 24(6), 1135-1149.
DOI Scopus337 WoS311 Europe PMC292
2015 Gargett, T., & Brown, M. (2015). Different cytokine and stimulation conditions influence the expansion and immune phenotype of third-generation chimeric antigen receptor T cells specific for tumor antigen GD2. Cytotherapy, 17(4), 487-495.
DOI Scopus105 WoS92 Europe PMC93
2015 Gargett, T., Fraser, C., Dotti, G., Yvon, E., & Brown, M. (2015). BRAF and MEK inhibition variably affect GD2-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell function in vitro. Journal of Immunotherapy, 38(1), 12-23.
DOI Scopus38 WoS39 Europe PMC35
2014 Gargett, T., Grubor-Bauk, B., Miller, D., Garrod, T., Yu, S., Wesselingh, S., . . . Gowans, E. (2014). Increase in DNA vaccine efficacy by virosome delivery and co-expression of a cytolytic protein. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 3(6), e18-1-e18-7.
DOI Scopus24 WoS21 Europe PMC20
2014 Garrod, T., Grubor-Bauk, B., Yu, S., Gargett, T., & Gowans, E. (2014). Encoded novel forms of HSP70 or a cytolytic protein increase DNA vaccine potency.. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 10(9).
2014 Yu, W., Grubor-Bauk, B., Gargett, T., Garrod, T., & Gowans, E. (2014). A novel challenge model to evaluate the efficacy of hepatitis C virus vaccines in mice. Vaccine, 32(27), 3409-3416.
DOI Scopus17 WoS16 Europe PMC12
2014 Garrod, T., Gargett, T., Yu, W., Major, L., Burrell, C., Wesselingh, S., . . . Gowans, E. (2014). Loss of long term protection with the inclusion of HIV pol to a DNA vaccine encoding gag. Virus Research, 192, 25-33.
DOI Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC7
2014 Garrod, T., Grubor-Bauk, B., Gargett, T., Li, Y., Miller, D., Yu, W., . . . Gowans, E. (2014). DNA vaccines encoding membrane-bound or secreted forms of heat shock protein 70 exhibit improved potency. European Journal of Immunology, 44(7), 1992-2002.
DOI Scopus24 WoS21 Europe PMC19
2014 Garrod, T., Grubor-Bauk, B., Yu, S., Gargett, T., & Gowans, E. (2014). Encoded novel forms of HSP70 or a cytolytic protein increase DNA vaccine potency. Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics, 10(9), 2679-2683.
DOI Scopus10 WoS11 Europe PMC9
2014 Gargett, T., Grubor-Bauk, B., Garrod, T., Yu, W., Miller, D., Major, L., . . . Gowans, E. (2014). Induction of antigen-positive cell death by the expression of Perforin, but not DTa, from a DNA vaccine enhances the immune response. Immunology and Cell Biology, 92(4), 359-367.
DOI Scopus24 WoS25 Europe PMC25
2014 Gargett, T., & Brown, M. (2014). The inducible caspase-9 suicide gene system as a 'safety switch' to limit on-target, off-tumor toxicities of chimeric antigen receptor T cells. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 5(235), 235-1-235-7.
DOI Scopus354 WoS319 Europe PMC299
2010 Brown, C., Sadlon, T., Gargett, T., Melville, E., Zhang, R., Drabsch, Y., . . . Barry, S. (2010). Robust, reversible gene knockdown using a single lentiviral short hairpin RNA vector. Human Gene Therapy, 21(8), 1005-1017.
DOI Scopus27 WoS29 Europe PMC26
2010 Sadlon, T., Wilkinson, B., Pederson, S., Brown, C., Bresatz, S., Gargett, T., . . . Barry, S. (2010). Genome-wide identification of human FOXP3 target genes in natural regulatory T cells. Journal of Immunology, 185(2), 1071-1081.
DOI Scopus127 WoS126 Europe PMC122
2009 Hutton, J., Gargett, T., Sadlon, T., Bresatz, S., Brown, C., Zola, H., . . . Barry, S. (2009). Development of CD4⁺CD25⁺FoxP3⁺ regulatory T cells from cord blood hematopoietic progenitor cells. Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 85(3), 445-451.
DOI Scopus29 WoS20 Europe PMC20
1998 Gargett, T. D., & McArthur, I. N. (1998). Derivative expansion of one-loop effective actions for Yang-Mills fields. JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS, 39(9), 4430-4448.
DOI WoS11
1997 McArthur, I. N., & Gargett, T. D. (1997). A “Gaussian” approach to computing supersymmetric effective actions. Nuclear Physics B, 497(1-2), 525-540.
DOI WoS49
1995 Gargett, V., Gargett, E., & Damania, D. (1995). The influence of rainfall on Black Eagle breeding over 31 years in the Matobo Hills, Zimbabwe. OSTRICH, 66(4), 114-121.
DOI WoS15

Year Citation
2025 Brown, M. P., Khan, S., Logan, J., Truong, N. T., Ziegler, D. S., Gargett, T., & LeBlanc, A. (2025). In vivo expansion of autologous GD2-CAR-T cells in patients with aggressive primary tumors may be impaired by previous alkylator therapy. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 85 (pp. 2 pages). IL, Chicago: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI
2025 Scheer, K., Yeo, E., Shard, C., Lenin, S., Ormsby, R., Skarne, N., . . . Gomez, G. (2025). Growth rates of patient-derived tumor organoids reflect glioblastoma patients' heterogeneity in survival. In NEURO-ONCOLOGY Vol. 27 (pp. v479). OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC.
DOI
2024 Shai-Hee, T., Jue, T. R., Cazzoli, R., Rouaen, J. R., Michniewicz, F., Bell, J., . . . Vittorio, O. (2024). Priming of the glioblastoma tumour microenvironment via copper chelation to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapies. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 84 (pp. 2 pages). CA, San Diego: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI WoS1
2024 Brown, M. P., Gargett, T., Truong, N. T., Vittorio, O., & Ziegler, D. S. (2024). Myeloid cell rebound associated with GD2-CAR-T cell therapy in solid tumor patients. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 84 (pp. 2 pages). CA, San Diego: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI
2023 Brown, M. P., Gargett, T., & Gardam, B. J. (2023). POSTER PRESENTATIONS - PROFFERED ABSTRACTS| APRIL 04 2023 Abstracts. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 83 (pp. 1 page). FL, Orlando: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
2022 Brown, M. P., Gargett, T., Ebert, L. M., Truong, N., Sedivakova, K., Kollis, P. M., . . . Ziegler, D. S. (2022). IN VITRO STUDIES IN SUPPORT OF GD2-SPECIFIC CAR-T CELL THERAPY FOR AGGRESSIVE ADULT AND PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMORS. In CYTOTHERAPY Vol. 24 (pp. S125). ELSEVIER SCI LTD.
2019 Brown, M., & Gargett, T. (2019). CARPETS: A Phase I study of the safety and immune effects of an escalating dose of autologous GD2 chimeric antigen receptor-expressing peripheral blood T cells in patients with GD2-positive metastatic melanoma and refractory solid tumors. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 79 (pp. 2 pages). GA, Atlanta: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI WoS3
2019 Gargett, T., & Brown, M. P. (2019). DEFINING THE OPTIMAL CAR T CELL PHENOTYPE FOR PERSISTENCE AND EFFICACY IN MELANOMA PATIENTS. In CYTOTHERAPY Vol. 21 (pp. S27-S28). ELSEVIER SCI LTD.
DOI
2016 Gargett, T., Yu, W., Dotti, G., Yvon, E., Christo, S., Hayball, J., . . . Brown, M. (2016). The CARPETS trial: GD2-specific CAR T cell therapy for advanced metastatic melanoma. In EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY Vol. 46 (pp. 517). Melbourne, AUSTRALIA: WILEY-BLACKWELL.
2016 Wijesundara, D., Grubor-Bauk, B., Gargett, T., Yu, W., & Gowans, E. (2016). A cytolytic DNA vaccine to target cross-presentation of dendritic cells. In EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY Vol. 46 (pp. 1060-1061). Melbourne, AUSTRALIA: WILEY-BLACKWELL.
2015 Gargett, T., & Brown, M. P. (2015). In vitro characterization of third-generation chimeric antigen receptor T cells directed toward GD2-expressing and BRAF-inhibitor resistant melanoma target cells. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 75 (pp. 1 page). Philadelphia, PA: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI

Year Citation
2026 Gomez, G., Scheer, K., Yeo, E., Shard, C., Palethorpe, H., Fouladzadeh, A., . . . Ebert, L. (2026). Growth rates of patient-derived tumor organoids reflect heterogeneity in tumor plasticity among glioblastoma patients. Poster session presented at the meeting of CANCER RESEARCH. PA, Philadelphia: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI
2026 Brown, M. P., Le Blanc, A., Khan, S., Patel, S., Logan, J., Franze, O., . . . Gargett, T. (2026). Initial clinical and laboratory results of an ongoing dose escalation study of autologous GD2-CAR-T cells in patients with recurrent GD2-positive glioblastoma. Poster session presented at the meeting of CANCER RESEARCH. CA, San Diego: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI
2026 Nam, E., Gargett, T., Gardam, B., Kollis, P., Gliddon, B., Tea, M., . . . Ebert, L. (2026). Armouring GD2 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-t cells with chemokine receptors and interleukin (IL)-15 to treat glioblastoma. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the 32nd ISCT Scientific Annual Meeting as published in Cytotherapy. United Kingdom: Elsevier.
DOI

Year Citation
2023 Yu, W., Truong, N. T. H., Polara, R., Gargett, T., Tea, M., Pitson, S., . . . Brown, M. (2023). Endogenous bystander killing mechanisms enhance the activity of novel FAP-specific CAR-T cells against glioblastoma.
DOI

  • Harnessing an unexpected new role of the CD47:SPRPA axis to target glioblastome invasion, NHMRC - Ideas Grants, 01/01/2024 - 31/12/2027

  • Targeting the DC-T cell axis to treat glioblastoma, CA-Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme, 15/05/2023 - 14/05/2026

  • Exploiting blood vessels as conduits for the entry of therapeutic CAR-T cells into brain tumours, Neurosurgical Research Foundation, 02/10/2023 - 31/10/2025

  • Clinical CAR-T manufacturing for children with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, Neurosurgical Research Foundation, 01/10/2024 - 30/09/2025

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2025 Principal Supervisor To identify biomarkers of patient response to CAR-T cell therapy Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Ryan U Theen Chin
2025 Principal Supervisor To identify biomarkers of patient response to CAR-T cell therapy Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Ryan U Theen Chin
2025 Co-Supervisor Target tumour cell invasion for the development of new therapies for glioblastoma Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Aijia Meng
2023 Co-Supervisor Investigating the Dendritic Cell - T Cell Axis in Glioblastoma to Explore New Combination Immunotherapy Treatment Options Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Bryan Gardam
2023 Co-Supervisor Investigating the Dendritic Cell - T Cell Axis in Glioblastoma to Explore New Combination Immunotherapy Treatment Options Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Bryan Gardam
2023 Co-Supervisor Enhancing cancer immunotherapy success by efficient recruitment of T cells to solid tumours Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Resty Nabeeta
2022 Co-Supervisor Identifying optimal immunotherapy combinations for the treatment of brain tumours Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Chris Nam

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2019 - 2025 Co-Supervisor Preclinical development of GD2 CAR-T cell therapy for glioblastoma Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Miss Erica Yeo

Date Role Committee Institution Country
2022 - ongoing Co-Chair SA Pathology Institutional Biosafety Committee Central Adelaide Local Health Network Australia
2017 - ongoing Member Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee Department of Health Australia

Date Office Name Institution Country
2023 - ongoing ISCT ANZ Treasurer International Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, Australia and New Zealand Regional Committee Australia

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